On a volleyball court, Jennifer Beltran is easy to spot.

The obvious giveaway is the off-color jersey sported by the soon-to-be senior libero or her 5-foot-9 stature among the trees on the front line, but beyond that, Beltran has emerged as the unquestioned leader of the Illinois volleyball team.

One of just four players in 2012 to play every set of the season, Beltran did a little bit of everything for Illinois on the court. She led the team in digs, service attempts and was even third on the squad in assists. Going into 2013, Beltran’s final year in orange and blue, she has expanded her role off the court as a leader.

“(Leading) is something I’ve tried to do in the past, but I honestly didn’t know how to,” Beltran said. “I was always told it was a role I was going to have to step in to. I knew that, but I just didn’t know how to do it.”

Not having past seniors in spring practices and games has allowed Beltran the opportunity to take control of the team and set the example for teammates. Along with defensive specialists Courtney Abrahamovich and Julia Conard, Beltran is one of just three full-time backcourt players on the roster and anchors a back line that lost experience with the graduation of defensive specialist Jackie Wolfe.

“She’s the police of the skill, police of the technique, police of the effort,” head coach Kevin Hambly said. “We need some people to help out on that. But she communicates at a very high level right now, which is what a lot of great leaders do.”

Spring practice is the first phase of the new year, and Beltran said she already realizes the 2013 campaign is the end of her career and that another season like 2012 would be an unsavory end to her time at Illinois.

“There’s a lot of things I want to do differently and redeem myself,” Beltran said. “I want to be happy with the way it ends.”

That urgency was on display last Saturday at Huff Hall, when the Illini hosted a trio of teams for exhibition matches. Twice in the matches, when difficult digs glanced of Beltran’s arms for a point, the libero slapped the floor in frustration before rejoining the team in the huddle.

While Beltran, who has 386 sets played at the collegiate level, knows what to expect from the college game, sophomore and setter Alexis Viliunas is still getting acclimated.

Viliunas played in seven games as a true freshman last year to replace now-graduated Annie Luhrsen and was inconsistent. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in October, but Hambly said she was “exposed” at times on the court.

“Playing (last year) helped a lot with my nerves,” Viliunas said. “It was a good experience for me.”

After a short stint back on the bench to end the season, Viliunas now has full control over the team and is currently the only setter on the roster. While spring games might help experienced players like Beltran shore up weaker parts of their games, Viliunas is using the time to get used to being a full-time player.

“Coming into spring I was like a lost puppy,” the sophomore said. “I was all over the place. Now, I know more about the game and more about what I need to be doing.”

Viliunas showed improvements from last year on Saturday, working on both setting and the defensive end. The sophomore even accrued a handful of kills of her own by instead of setting, leaping and dumping the ball with her left hand across the net before the opposing defense was set. At 6-foot-1, Viliunas is able to get in on the block with the front line and establish herself as more of an offensive threat.

“I thought (Viliunas) played good defense, played good volleyball,” Hambly said. “At times she doesn’t locate exactly where we want, but I don’t expect her to at this point. She’s getting a whole lot better.”

With Beltran in her last season and Viliunas getting her first taste of collegiate volleyball, the two are at very different points in their careers. But if Illinois wants to get anywhere near their mark set in 2011, it will need both players to step their play up to another level, which is something Hambly is confident they will be able to do.

“Between the two of them, if they’re taking our first and second contacts, we’ve got a good chance to score,” he said.

Stephen can be reached at sbourbo2 @dailyillini.com and @steve_bourbon.